Kim Campbell quieted her seventh-grade social studies students Friday afternoon in Room 614 of Hopkins West Junior High School.
She told them her stomach hurt because she'd just spoken with a fellow teacher, who was crying about the Connecticut elementary school shooting.
"I don't know what to say -- can you imagine those kids in grade school just learning to tie their shoes like you used to do?" she asked. "And think about the parents who dropped them off at school one day -- and they don't come back?"
Then Campbell, a 13-year veteran recently named the state's top middle-school teacher, gave an instruction that might seem startling, but reflects her honest approach and today's harsh reality: "OK, call up CNN on your iPads and tell me what we're seeing."
One 13-year-old student said at least 20 children had been killed. Another student raised his hand and said: "There were at least 100 rounds." Others mentioned a Glock and a SWAT team.
Another student said he wondered if the shooter had to check in at the office. Campbell told the kids he might have concealed the gun in his coat.
"We don't search for weapons or have metal detectors," she said. "If someone has a connection to the school, we let them in."
The discussion ranged from the training Campbell has received to the secret location that she couldn't share, but where she'd lead them if something horrible happened in Minnetonka. They talked about students shooting at schools, including Minnesota cases in Cold Spring and Red Lake.
